OCEANSIDE HOMES SPARED FROM 20-ACRE BLAZE

Several agencies battled a three-alarm brush fire that burned close to homes in Oceanside late Monday afternoon.

The blaze broke out just before 4 p.m. near Douglas Road and Via Cíbola behind Pilgrim Creek Estates.

When firefighters arrived they found dense smoke and flames coming from inaccessible thick brush that had no visible paths for engines, Ocean-side fire officials said.

Crews had to gain access through dirt service roads on Camp Pendleton.

In addition to Oceanside, fire crews from Cal Fire, Camp Pendleton, North County, San Marcos, Carlsbad and Vista, as well as Cal Fire air support, responded.

The blaze scorched about 20 acres and was contained in about two hours. No structures were damaged and no injuries were reported. The cause is under investigation.

Debbi Baker • U-T

Holiday weekend DUI arrests down a lot this year, CHP says

SAN DIEGO

California Highway Patrol officers arrested 69 people in San Diego County on suspicion of drunken driving during the Labor Day weekend, officials said.

That number was down significantly from the same time span last year, when 91 DUI arrests were made.

Statewide, 1,363 DUI arrests were made by the CHP, compared with 1,531 last year.

Across California, there were 24 fatal accidents during the holiday weekend, including two in San Diego County.

J. Harry Jones • U-T

Two arrested after bar fight leaves two with stab wounds

encinitas

An Encinitas man and woman were arrested on suspicion of assault following a fight inside a bar’s bathroom that spilled into the street early Monday morning.

About 12:35 a.m. Monday, deputies responded to a call about the fight at D Street Bar on South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas, sheriff’s Detective Robert Stevenson said. They found two men with non-life-threatening stab wounds.

The alleged stabber and his partner got in a car and tried to run over the victims but missed, Stevenson said.

Police chief chases down driver in three-car hit-and-run

If you’re going to run into three cars and drive away, it’s best not to do it in front of the police chief.

Last Wednesday afternoon, the driver of a Chevy Tahoe sideswiped two cars, rear-ended a third, then sped away from the intersection of College and Oceanside boulevards, police said.

Oceanside Police Chief Frank McCoy happened to be sitting in an unmarked police car at the same intersection. After a half-mile chase, the driver pulled over.

The driver of the Tahoe was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run driving. One person suffered minor injuries in one of the crashes.

J. Harry Jones • U-T

La Mesa woman killed trying to exit moving truck identified

el cajon

A woman who died in El Cajon during the weekend after being run over by a truck as she was attempting to climb out was identified as Maria Josephine Newman, the Medical Examiner’s Office said Tuesday.

Newman, 51, of La Mesa, was a passenger in a Chevrolet pickup that was heading north on Orlando Street near East Madison Avenue about 12:10 p.m. Saturday. For unknown reasons, she tried to get out of the moving vehicle and fell, El Cajon police Lt. Frank La Haye said. She died at the scene.

The driver left the area but later came to the Police Department. He was interviewed and released as officers continue to investigate.